The Glory of the Tribe

Jiang Xuan suddenly stood up, reaching for the towel hanging on the rack. The water in the bath was only up to his knees, so naturally, he wasn’t wearing anything.
Chen Yuanxuan immediately saw everything clearly, her pupils contracting sharply. However, she didn’t avert her gaze, her expression remaining unchanged as she coldly remarked, "I didn’t expect the esteemed Clan Leader Jiang to act like a rogue."

"Who barged in without a word? Who’s being a rogue here?" Jiang Xuan retorted.
"You’re a man. You’re not the one at a disadvantage here."
"You’re staring without turning your eyes away, and you still claim you’re not at a disadvantage?" Jiang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"Who’s staring without turning my eyes away?!" Chen Yuanxuan couldn’t hold it in anymore.
"Shh!" Jiang Xuan gestured for silence, then lay back in the bath, wrapping the towel around his shoulder and wiping it. Closing his eyes, he casually spoke, "So, what’s the matter? What do you want to talk about?"
"Two things. I’ll leave once I’m done."

Chen Yuanxuan spoke firmly, "First, pretend you don’t know me, keep it that way. We have no disagreement on this matter. When we meet again, let’s not act like we’re controlling each other. Whatever happened between us in the mountains, let it stay there."
"So, you don’t trust me?" Jiang Xuan understood Chen Yuanxuan’s intention, his head tilted as he looked at her. "If you really didn’t trust me, we should be interacting more, don’t you think?"
"What do you mean by that?" Chen Yuanxuan didn’t understand.

"You just don’t want people to know about what happened in the mountains."
Jiang Xuan looked at Chen Yuanxuan, "But you can’t guarantee that every time you see me, you won’t reveal something in your eyes. The more you avoid it, the more it makes people suspicious. We shouldn’t have no interaction in public places. Isn’t it exhausting to keep up this act? For me, it is."
Chen Yuanxuan roughly understood what Jiang Xuan meant.

You can’t just keep pretending every time people are around.
"Today, when you just found out my identity, your face almost screamed that you recognized me. And when I said your brother should sign a death contract in front of Lord Lei Hong, your expression didn’t look like it was aimed at a stranger… A tribal person challenging your brother, the genius of the heavens, shouldn’t you have been cold and disdainful? Don’t deny it. People from the main city look at us tribesmen like that!"
"But why did you get so angry? Did you think I was trying to provoke you?"

"You’re observant." Chen Yuanxuan said, with a hint of mockery.
"It’s just the downside of being too perceptive. You think I want to pay attention to you?" Jiang Xuan said, "Clearly, you’ve never been in such a situation. You’re too flustered to act, unable to hide your emotions, always thinking someone’s trying to entangle you. Is everyone else bad except for you? Can’t I just be someone who values trust? We agreed not to meet again, and meeting by chance isn’t anyone’s fault. We can get to know each other again openly. But you can’t even speak to me, and I can’t take the initiative to say anything to you—it would make me seem like a pervert. If you want to avoid me, fine! But you can’t! You barged in when I’m taking a bath without a word. Don’t you know that’s rude?"
Silence.

Chen Yuanxuan stared at Jiang Xuan in stunned silence. Her expression slowly turned incredulous.
If she hadn’t misheard… Jiang Xuan was scolding her!
Clearly, Jiang Xuan was upset by her actions—breaking in while he was bathing, driven by doubts about his character.
The matter between them had already been "settled" in Heitan Mountain.

Jiang Xuan wouldn’t tolerate her offending him.
The silence lingered for a few moments.
"I... I’m sorry..." Chen Yuanxuan was truly stunned. Perhaps because Jiang Xuan made a valid point, she subconsciously apologized, but then she stopped, her pride not allowing her to apologize further.

A wave of frustration rose in her heart.
She had never imagined she would be put in her place by a sixteen-year-old tribal boy. No one had ever dared to speak to her like that—not her peers, not even Xie Hanjie, a calamity realm expert. But this boy, ten years younger than her, dared to scold her without any reservations. He didn’t... flatter her at all.
Chen Yuanxuan had grown up with admiration from elders, praise from her peers, and respect from younger generations. Jiang Xuan had given her a completely new experience!

This made her both angry and, at the same time, stirred some subtle emotions within her.
"He’s so firm..." Chen Yuanxuan thought to herself. Then, unable to hold back, she said, "You—"
"I accept your apology." Jiang Xuan interrupted what she might have been about to say, stopping her.

Chen Yuanxuan was furious!
But her upbringing didn’t allow her to act like a shrew.
After taking a deep breath twice, she coldly said, "I admit I panicked, so what’s your solution?"

"Let’s interact more, become familiar with each other," Jiang Xuan answered straightforwardly. "At least we’ll seem like acquaintances to others. If I’m going to make your brother sign a death contract, you can observe me, or even warn me—that’s all normal. If we get to know each other again, we don’t need to avoid each other. The more relaxed we are, the less flaws there will be."
"…Okay, I agree." Chen Yuanxuan thought about it for a moment before agreeing.
If she had heard this before being scolded, Chen Yuanxuan might have doubted Jiang Xuan’s intentions. But now, seeing that Jiang Xuan had scolded her so openly, not afraid of offending her, she instead felt more at ease. It seemed like Jiang Xuan really wanted to resolve things between them in this way.

"More relaxed, fewer flaws. Well said." Chen Yuanxuan added.
"Wasn’t that two things?"
Jiang Xuan no longer looked at her. He slid back into the bath, facing the beam of the room with his eyes closed, "What’s the second thing?"

"My brother has gone back to Feixue City to ask for an elder to come. It looks like he’s determined to challenge you and sign the death contract. No one can stop him."
Chen Yuanxuan continued, "The second thing… I just want to ask, did you really kill the Ge brothers?"
Jiang Xuan opened his eyes and turned to look at her. He paused, then sighed, "I’m really starting to get tired of you, woman! You’re either doubting my character or my strength. Come on, big sister, you really don’t understand me, do you?"

Actually, Jiang Xuan understood why Chen Yuanxuan asked such a disjointed question. He simply spoke bluntly, "Go back and inform your brother. He’s no match for me. There’s no chance of him winning. If he wants to save his reputation and life, he should find an excuse not to come back."
"Why are you reacting so strongly? Why do I feel like you’re bluffing?"
Chen Yuanxuan furrowed her brow, her gaze scrutinizing him, "And you didn’t answer my question directly. Did you really kill the Ge brothers?"

Jiang Xuan’s expression hardened.
He didn’t want to say anymore. He was genuinely speechless!
He turned his head back, lying down again, throwing the warm towel over his face. He waved his hand, signaling Chen Yuanxuan to leave.

Chen Yuanxuan returned to her room, sitting at the table. It was already quite dark, so she lit the oil lamp before sitting down. She took out some paper and picked up her brush, dipping it in ink. But before she could write, she paused.
"I believe his nonsense! Acting all tough, it’s clearly just bluffing!"
Chen Yuanxuan had planned to write a letter to her brother, informing him of Jiang Xuan’s words, but after thinking it over, she decided it wasn’t necessary.

"If he really has the strength of the late innate stage to kill the Ge brothers, then I might as well just marry him!" Chen Yuanxuan had always hoped for a man with greater talent than hers to be her husband. But now, thinking of Jiang Xuan, it was filled with mockery. "There’s no way someone of sixteen could have that kind of talent and strength."
At night, in Feixue City, at the Wei family’s old residence.
News of Jiang Xuan had been circulating for some time. In a secret chamber of the Wei family, besides a few Calamity Realm experts, all the key members of the Wei family were present, with Wei Hongkuo subtly taking the lead.

In the past six months, his position in the Wei family had risen dramatically.
"Jiang Xuan killing the Ge brothers must have some trick behind it. Even if Jiang Zhengwu were alive, he couldn’t have such strength. He probably got lucky, or maybe he found the opportunity to take advantage of it!" Wei Hongkuo said with increasing authority, calmly explaining.
"Yes, yes, Lord Wei is right!"

"Fourth Master is making sense!"
There was a chorus of agreement. It wasn’t just out of respect for Wei Hongkuo; they genuinely agreed with his words.
It didn’t make sense. It was impossible!

"But..." Wei Hongkuo’s expression darkened. "Jiang Xuan advanced to the late innate stage in just half a year. Even if he used extraordinary methods, his talent is undeniable. He might surpass any genius in our Wei family!"
There was a brief silence in the chamber.
Everyone paid close attention to Wei Hongkuo’s expression.

"The Wei family’s cooperation with the Dong family won’t fall through because of him. Our family’s future Calamity Realm experts are more important. He won’t change anything," said the tall, thin man beside Wei Hongkuo.
"I heard that the Chen family’s top genius, Chen Yuanzhou, is going to challenge him! This might help curb his arrogance!" Another voice spoke up.